Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026
Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291
Published on: December 10, 2016
Clostridium difficile colitis: factors associated with outcome and assessment of mortality at a national level
David B Stewart1, Christopher S Hollenbeak
1Department of Surgery, Division of Colon & Rectal Surgery, College of Medicine, The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. dstewart@hmc.psu.edu
Background:
Previous descriptions of Clostridium difficile colitis (CDC) epidemics may overestimate cost and mortality of CDC.
Methods:
An analysis of the 2007 Nationwide Inpatient Sample was performed. Patients with CDC (N = 41,207) were compared to a propensity score-matched cohort of patients without CDC.
Results:
Average length of stay was longer for CDC patients by 5 days (p < 0.001). Mortality was higher for the CDC cohort (9.4% vs. 8.6%; p < 0.001) though the absolute difference was small. Mean hospital costs were 56% higher for CDC patients (p < 0.001). Higher odds of death with CDC were associated with small hospitals and self-pay patients. Chronic renal failure and diabetes were associated with lower hospital costs and lower odds of death in the CDC cohort.
Conclusions:
CDC is not as deadly of a disease as it may be perceived to be at larger hospitals, and mortality was actually unaffected by certain serious comorbidities. CDC is expensive due to a longer hospital stay.
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